Railway-switch



(No Model.) I i L. WIELAND.

RAILWAY SWITCH. V

No. 563,828. Patented July 14,1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC LEXVIS XVIELAND, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

RAI LWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,828, dated July 14,1896.

Application filed September 16, 1895. Serial No. 562,590. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lnwrs \VIELAND, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Jersey Oity,in the county of Hudson and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailway-Switches, of which the following is a specification, referen cebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming. a part thereof, inwhich similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to railway-switch es, and to means for operatingthe same; and the object thereof is to provide a novel switchoperatingmechanism, which is adapted to be operated by the wheels of a passingtrain, and by a knocker or other device connected with the engine andunder the control of the engineer, or with the platform of a car; andwith this and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification,of whichthe accompanyin g drawings form a part, in which- Figure 1 is a planview of a railway track and switch provided with my improvement. Figs. 2and 3 represent perspective views of details of the construction; andFig. 4 represents a side View of a detail of the construction, which isconnected with a car or engine.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, A Arepresent the rails of the main track, and B B the rails of the sidetrack or switch, and O the switch plate or bar, which is pivoted at 1),these features of construction being of the usual form and clearly shownin Fig. 1.

Arranged at a predetermined point along one of the rails A of the maintrack is a vertical plunger E, which is adapted tobe operated by thewheel of a passing car or of an engine, and pivot-ally connected withthe lower end of said plunger is one arm of a crank-lever F, saidcrank-lever being pivotally connected with the rail at f, and the otherarm being extended downward and connected with a rod G, which extendsbelow the track, in the direction of the switch,to a predetermined pointopposite the switch plate or bar 0, where it is connected with one armof the crank-lever H, the other arm of which is pivotally connected witha rod K, which extends crosswise of and beneath the switch plate or barO and the adjacent rail A,and is pivotally connected. with one arm of acrank-lever L, saidarm being also pivot-ally connected with theswitchplate by means of a rod M, and the other arm of the crank-lever Lis connected with a rod N, which extends backward along the track in thedirection of the plunger E, and is connected with a sliding plate 0,arranged in the top of a base-plate P, which is provided with acap-plate or cover R, in the top of which is formed a longitudinal slotR.

The cap plate or cover R is bent or curved upwardly at the point wherethe slot R is formed, and the free end thereof is directed downwardlyand rests upon the projecting end of the plate 0, and secured to saidplate 0 is a shoulder O, which projects through said slot R, and issubstantially triangular in form, as clearly shown in Fig.

Secured to the under side of the platform of the car, as shown in Fig.4:, or to the under side of the platform of an engine is a cranklever S,one arm of which extends horizontally beneath the platform and supportsa plunger S, provided with a head or plate S and the other end of thecrank-lever S extends downwardly and is provided with a chain S which isconnected with one arm of a crank-lever T, which is pivotally secured tothe platform of the car, and the other arm of which projects forwardlyand downwardly, as shown at T, and is provided at its lower end with adownwardly and backwardly curved head T and the said lever is held in anoperative position, in connection therewith, and with the bottom of thecar, by a spring M.

The operation will be readily understood from the foregoing descriptionwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

If a car be moving on the main track in the direction of the arrow at,the wheel or wheels thereof will strike the plunger E, which willoperate the rod G, and open the switch so that the car will proceed onthe main track; but if it be desired to take the side track the lover I-is operated from the car to close the switch, which is done by pressingdown the plunger S and throwing down the lever T into such position thatthe head T thereof will strike the shoulder O on the sliding pressed theswitch is opened so that the car can proceed on the main track, and thatwhen the plate 0 is shoved forward by means of the lever T, the switchis closed so that the car will or may take the side track. In thisoperation the head T of the lever T, after the plate 0 has been shovedforward as far as necessary in order to operate the switch, passes overthe curved portion of the cap plate R, and is thus released from theshoulder 0, and it will thus be seen that I provide an automaticswitching apparatus which is simple in construction and operation, andwell adapted to accomplish the result for which it is intended.

My invention is not limited to the exact form, construction, an darrangement of parts shown and described; and I therefore reserve theright to make all such alterations therein and modifications thereof asfairly come within the scope of the invention.

Having fully described my invention, I

claim and desire to secure by Letters Patout-- A switch-operating deviceadapted to be operated by suitable mechanism attached to a car,constructed and arranged substantially as herein shown and described,consisting in the combination with the main traok rails. of switch-railsB B pivoted switch bar or plate 0 vertical plunger E adapted to beoperated by a passing car-wheel, crank-lever F pivotally connected witha track-rail and by one arm of the said plunger and by the other arm toa rod K which extends beneath the switchplate 0 and adjacent traclorailand is pivotally connected with one arm of a eranlolever L, whichlever-arm is also pivotally connected by means of an intermediate rod Mwith the switch-plate, while the other arm of said lever L connects witha rod N that extends backward in the direction of the plunger and isconnected with a sliding plate 0 provided with a shoulder 0 arranged inthe top of a base-plate P that has an upwardly-curred cover in the topof which is a longitudinal slot up through which the plateshoulder 0projects all arranged to operate as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname, in presence of the subscribing witnesses, this ltth day ofSeptember, 1895.

LEXVIS XVIELAND. Witnesses C. GERsT, L' M. l\IULLER.

